The Twilight Twenty Five Round 2
by cass189
Summary: Twenty-five prompted one-shots or drabbles written over the course of three months for The Twilight Twenty-Five Challenge
1. Bitter

So, I'm once again part of the Twilight25 challenge. Check out the link in my profile so you can read everyone's entries.

Thank you to Kiriny13 for helping me!

* * *

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Bitter  
Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: k+

Definition of Bitter:

**1. **Having or being a taste that is sharp, acrid, and unpleasant.

**2. **Causing a sharply unpleasant, painful, or stinging sensation; harsh: enveloped in bitter cold; a bitter wind.

**3. **Difficult or distasteful to accept, admit, or bear: the bitter truth; bitter sorrow.

**4. **Proceeding from or exhibiting strong animosity: a bitter struggle; bitter foes.

**5. **Resulting from or expressive of severe grief, anguish, or disappointment: cried bitter tears.

**6. **Marked by resentment or cynicism:

**Bitter**

EPOV

I closed my eyes for a second, enjoying the last remains of pleasure still coursing through my body, ran my fingers through my hair and then reached for her, realizing I could no longer touch her.

As always, she had already distanced herself from me and there was nothing I could do to close the distance between us.

I watched from my place in bed as she carefully got up, collected her clothes that were scattered on the bedroom floor and quickly dressed herself without so much as a word or a quick glance in my direction.

I knew she wouldn't say anything. She never did, after all. In her defense, I guess she just didn't know what to say.

It was a very well rehearsed routine, the one we shared every week.

After she had what she wanted from me – what I was always more than willing to give her despite everything I knew – she retracted back to her shell, not saying anything or even looking directly at me.

While we made love, while we were in the throes of passion, it was different. She wasn't cold then.

She gave herself completely to me then, she was responsive, eager to pleasure and to let herself be pleased and she allowed me to, for a short time, see who she truly was and what she really wanted.

When we were just a mess of tangled limbs, moving together in unison and not caring about anything else, I knew that what she wanted was to stay with me.

When we were done, however, everything invariably changed…

It was almost as if after the lovemaking was over, the spell cast between us was broken and she no longer felt anything for me. It was as if she no longer wanted me…

But I knew she did. Why else would she come back every time?

And so, after we reached our peaks, she would put some distance between us and get up. She quickly dressed herself and left just like that.

And every time she left without looking back at least once, without any hesitation or indication she wanted to stay and that it pained her to leave me, I was left with a sour taste in my mouth. A direct contrast from her sweet kisses that warmed my whole body and soul and that made me fall deeper in love with her every time.

Every time she left after we were together, with no visible guilt for leaving me behind just like that, I hated myself a little more.

I hated myself for not being able to resist her. Her touch, her smile and the sweet nothings she always whispered in my ear.

When she left, I was bitter. I was angry and I was even sad because the fact she wouldn't stay was the perfect reminder that she didn't belong to me. She wasn't mine and she would never truly be because I was simply too late.

She was already his…

After she left, I often stood in bed wondering who she was when she was with him. How did she react to him? Did she smile and laugh? Was she as responsive to him as she was with me? Did he make her happy? Did she truly love him? And if she did, why did she feel the need to come meet me every week, month after month? Did he know about our clandestine meetings? No, I was sure he didn't.

I didn't know much about him, but what I knew was enough to deduce he wouldn't deal well with the knowledge that the woman he loved was seeing someone else behind his back.

I wondered if he loved her, as well. Did he love her like I did? Did he love her so much he couldn't deny her, couldn't deny her pleading looks even though he knew it was wrong to be with her that it would only hurt more after?

I doubted he did. I doubted he was able to feel so deeply about someone. He had simply gotten lucky. He reached Bella before I did and for that, for taking my only chance of being happy away from me, I hated him…

He didn't know the wonderful woman he had. He couldn't know! If he did, he would truly take care of her. He would cherish her so much, she wouldn't feel the need to be with another man. She wouldn't have to find comfort in someone else's arms.

I could drive myself crazy with so many unanswered questions and possibilities. There was always so much doubt, confusion and contradicting emotions mixed inside of me, that I was often left feeling rough around the edges.

I was sure that to most people who saw me and knew me, I looked lost, discontent and even bitter these days. The truth was, I was bitter! How could I not be? I couldn't be with the woman I loved, after all.

Of all the questions constantly running through my head and plaguing me during the time she wasn't with me, there was a particular one I desperately needed to know the answer to. None of the others mattered and would be easy forgotten if I could just have the answer to that one question.

Why did Bella look so bitter herself? What made her like that?

I knew something had happened to her in the past. Something she had never told me about, something I was sure only a few people knew about and that had changed her forever. Whatever happened to her, made her give up on something she wanted desperately, it made her need him badly.

If she would only open herself up to me – if she told me everything – maybe I could find a way of changing everything, maybe I could fix everything that was wrong and we could be able to find a way of being happy together.

I could change our lives and make her happy. I knew I could.


	2. Alone

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Alone  
Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: K+

Definition of Alone:

**1. **Being apart from others; solitary.

**2. **Being without anyone or anything else; only.

**3. **Considered separately from all others of the same class.

**4. **Being without equal; unique

**Alone**

EPOV

She said she needed time and I gave it to her, but how much longer would I have to wait?

For how long would I be alone?

She had to know she belonged with me. She belonged to me…

I needed her back, I couldn't deal with everything by myself anymore. I needed my friend, if not my lover, with me once more.

If I couldn't hold her in my arms, kiss and love her again, I wanted to at least have her near again.

I couldn't lose her. I couldn't lose us. I couldn't lose what we still had.


	3. Awe

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Awe  
Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: K+

Definition of Awe: **1. **A mixed emotion of reverence, respect, dread, and wonder inspired by authority, genius, great beauty, sublimity, or might.

**Awe**

EPOV

I took the little baby in my arms, careful not to wake her up and cuddled her against my chest.

She was so small but at the same time so beautiful, so perfect, I couldn't fully believe I had helped create such a wonderful little creature.

But I had and she was a part of me. A part of Bella. We created her through our love.

I was in awe of how beautiful she was and I was amazed by the fact that, even though she was so little she had already a firm and permanent grip on my heart.


	4. Fragments

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Fragments  
Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: M

Definition of Fragments:

**1.** a piece broken off or detached fragments of rock

**2.** an incomplete piece; portion fragments of a novel

**3.** a scrap; morsel; bit

**Fragments**

BPOV

As I looked at the dark blue sky, memories from an almost forgotten past assaulted my mind. One after the other, they filled my senses and made me go back to a different time.

Edward used to love standing outside, looking at the night sky.

I could remember, not clearly anymore as time had altered my memories and transformed them into a simple fragment of what reality had truly been, all of the times we stood at the balcony of a random hotel or one of his apartments looking at the stars.

We would stand there, his arms wrapped around me, his hand spread open on my stomach and my back pressed to his chest, just observing the night and not saying a word. There was nothing we wanted or could say at those moments.

He would ever so often kiss my shoulder and nuzzle my neck and I would smile at the intimacy of it all.

I could hazily remember all of the mornings spent in bed, making love, sharing a little bit of ourselves or simply looking at each other. I could always just get lost in his deep green eyes and the emotions portrayed in them. He had long ago learned how to mask his face and his feelings, but his eyes could never lie and they often looked at me with pure love and desire.

I could also remember making love in front of the fire, running around in the rain as he chased after me and always caught me, standing in his arms in the middle of the living room as he twirled me around, seeing him lean in so he could whisper sweet nothings in my ear, so he could tell me he loved me.

Every time I thought about his love declarations, I was once again invaded by an intense feeling of loss. Even after all this time, I still loved him so much!

I just wish I could still clearly remember his smell, his taste… I wish I could still have him and not just a memory.

There were many things we did together, many moments I could no longer recall as clearly as I wished to, probably because I had spent so much time forcing myself to forget him, but there were two memories that weren't mere fragments. There were two memories I could remember with complete precision.

One was the night I first realized I was in love with him, the night we made love for the first time.

The other one was the time I allowed myself to believe that we could somehow make it together. That there was a chance of us being happy, that we could just run away and live happily ever after, raising our own little family.

As for the first memory, it didn't matter much how we had ended up in that position, all it mattered was how alive and wanted he made me feel.

_His hands roamed along my body, caressing every inch of skin he had access to as his lips trailed wet kisses down my throat to my breasts and then back up._

_I gripped his shoulders as we started to move faster and wrapped my legs tighter around him, wanting to feel him as close to me as possible._

_Our rhythm was increasing more and more and it was quite obvious by the sounds escaping both out mouths that neither of us would last for much longer._

_That was when he stopped kissing and nibbling on my neck and looked straight at me. Without ever stopping or decreasing our pace, he brushed the hair away from my face, pressed our foreheads together and whispered._

"_I love you, Bella. Did you know that?" I could swear that for a second I stopped breathing and everything was suddenly so clear, so obvious._

_How had I not seen it before? Who was I trying to fool by pretending I didn't know what was happening to me?_

_It was impossible for me to keep on lying to myself._

_I pulled him even closer to me, wanting to crawl inside of him if possible as my whole world, my whole being, shifted with the knowledge that, despite all odds, I was in love with him too._

_He loved me. I loved him._

_I raised a trembling hand and touched his face, moaning when he nibbled on my lower lip._

"_I love you too, Edward." He simply smiled and leaned in to lightly kiss my lips as we both reached our peaks and came crashing down together._

It was a lovely memory that even to this day made my whole body shiver. I would never forget that night.

When it came to the second memory, I have never been able to forget it because for a split second… it had made me hopeful.

_We were just lying in bed, me on my back and he on his side. His hand was tracing random patterns on my bare stomach and I was just content to be like that._

_We were comfortably silent for a long time until he finally spoke._

"_Bella, what would you say if I told you I want to leave all of this behind?" I moved my head a little so I could look directly at him and raised an eyebrow._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Well, I want to change for you, so I can be with you. I know you love me, but I want more than random meetings every now and then. I want to be with you, really be with you, forever. I want to go to sleep and wake up with you. I want to, damn it, I want to share my life with you." I stood there just looking at him for what seemed like forever before I could finally speak._

_Could we really change everything? Could we really share our lives completely?_

"_You do?" He slowly nodded._

"_Yes, I do. I even want to start a family with you, if you're up to it. I think we can find somewhere safe to be and…" I didn't allow him to go on._

"_You want to have kids?"_

"_One day, when my life is less chaotic and I'm a better person, yes." I smiled at him, allowing myself to imagine just that. A happy family._

_A family. I had never thought about having one. It was almost impossible for me to have one considering what I did, but now… Well, if we could just start all over somewhere else, now it seemed like a lovely idea._

"_I'm listening…" He chuckled at me and shook his head._

"_Well, I was thinking we could find a nice house somewhere far away. Somewhere no one from our past could find us. You can do whatever you want with it. We can, I don't know, adopt a dog or something and then… We can think about starting a family." I rolled onto my side so I was facing him and ran my hands through his hair._

_It all sounded so good. A lifetime spent with him without having to worry about anything or anyone._

_He traced my face with his fingertips and brushed the hair away from my face before continuing._

"_I think I would like us to have a girl. A little girl who looks just like you. Does it sound good? Do you want that?" I simply nodded and kissed him lightly._

_I truly wished we could have that._

"_Yes, I want it." _

Those two were the only memories that weren't fragmented. The only ones that neither time nor my own doing could erase.

I closed my eyes and sighed again.

Everything else was fragments of memories and it was all I had of our time together—Snapshots of a time when, against all odds, I had been happy with the most unexpected person.

But what we had couldn't last. In a world where everything was black or white, truth or lie, right or wrong… love, no matter how strong it was, just wasn't enough.

We were too different. We were on irreconcilable sides and so, could never be together.

The good agent and the criminal… Who would've thought I would ever go for such a cliché?

But that day… That day it all came to an end. That day, despite what my heart was saying, I left without saying anything and knowing perfectly well I could never look back.

If only he had decided to stay in bed with me until later like I had asked him to that day.


	5. Languid

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Languid  
Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: K

Definition of Languid:

**1. ** Lacking energy or vitality; weak: a languid wave of the hand.

**2. ** Showing little or no spirit or animation; listless: a languid mood.

**3. ** Lacking vigor or force; slow: languid breezes.

**Languid**

**EPOV**

I leaned against the wall, my arms folded, and watched as she went around the room packing her things. Just watched…

I watched as she stripped me of any hopes, of any willingness to keep on fighting for us. There was no more fight in me anymore. I felt hollow, weak…

I had fussed and fought in the beginning, wanting to know what had happened, what I had said or done to push her away.

Where had I gone wrong? What could I have possibly done to make her leave me? What hadn't I seen?

I tried to push her for an explanation, but she had none.

Now… Now I couldn't fight anymore. I had given her all I had and now there was nothing left. Not even the needed energy to make her stay or to at least ask her why she was leaving like this again. Why didn't she want me anymore? When had she stopped loving me? Where had we gone wrong?

My mind was in a haze and I couldn't think straight. There was a turmoil of unanswered questions swirling around in my head, driving me crazy.

I felt confused, weak and just lacking the energy to do whatever it was I needed to do.

I watched as she put the last of her books in one of the boxes she had with her and then looked around before turning her attention to me.

Why was she still so beautiful?

"Well, I think this is it. I think have everything." I knew she hoped from some reaction from me, maybe just a nod, but I didn't even flinch. Not physically, anyway.

Inside it was like, as cheesy as it sounded, my heart was breaking into a million microscopic pieces all over again. It was funny how it could still do that after these last three days.

It was also funny how people were right when they said you didn't recognize the biggest days of your life until you were living them and realized nothing would ever be the same again. I never thought they were before.

The day I met Bella, the day she told me she loved me, the day she broke my heart without as much as a valid explanation and today… Those were the biggest days of my life.

The day I met Bella everything changed. All it took for me to know we belonged together was a good look at her smile and the day her deep brown eyes shined when she looked up at me. She was strikingly beautiful and I fell in love with her right there and then.

The day she told me she loved me while we cuddled on the couch while watching some random movie was quite possibly the happiest one in my life. It was the moment I realized I wasn't the only one wishing for a whole life spent together. She wanted it too, with me.

She wanted it until three days ago. And if I thought that hearing her say she didn't want me anymore, that she didn't love me and that she couldn't stay, was the worst possible moment of my life, I was wrong.

That moment broke me completely, but watching her take her things away was worse. It made the pain come boiling up. It made everything real. She really was leaving me and there was nothing I could do about it.

She really didn't love me anymore.

"Edward? Aren't you going to say anything?" I looked up at her and shrugged in disinterest.

"I don't think there's anything I can say." She just stood there looking at me as if waiting for something.

Why didn't she just leave? Why couldn't she see that standing there waiting for a reaction from me only made it worse? Why did she have to make it worse?

"What do you want from me, Bella? What else could you possibly want from me?"

"I don't know. I just thought you would want to talk, to say something." I shook my head slowly.

"I don't."

"But…" She cut her sentence short, making me sigh. If she didn't know what to say, why were we having this conversation?

"There's nothing else to say, Bella. You are obviously leaving anyway, so please just make it quick. I am so tired…" I was. I just wanted to drop down on the couch and stay there for as long as it was needed. The damn tears I felt forming in my eyes didn't help my current state of weakness either.

And the longer she stayed here, the more I wanted to find the needed strength to drop to my knees and beg her to stay. I didn't think I had the power to even do that, though.

I was in a pathetic state.

I didn't care about anything else. Nothing else held any interest to me anymore. Not when I knew she would be leaving no matter what.

I saw Bella nod and then, just like that, she was at the door. She looked at one last time and spoke.

"For what is worth, I'm really sorry, Edward. I didn't want to hurt you." I didn't even move.

Her words weren't worth too much right now.

From the corner of my eye, I saw her nod again and then close the door behind her, effectively putting an end to what we had.

I just stood there leaning against the wall for what seemed like hours, not knowing what to do or what to think anymore. It could have been just a few minutes, though. I wasn't so sure about anything anymore.

As I said, I was pathetic.

Eventually, I managed to drag myself to the couch and lay down there. Was it possible that even my body was hurting right now? It certainly seemed like it.

My eyes fixed on the walls, trying to avoid every and anything that could remind me of Bella, and this time, I was completely sure I stayed like that, without moving at all, for several endless hours.


	6. Prelude

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Prelude  
Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: K

Definition of Prelude:

**1. ** An introductory performance, event, or action preceding a more important one; a preliminary or preface.

**2. ** _Music_

**Prelude**

BPOV

Every story has a beginning. In every life, there's a moment, sometimes fleeting, when you know a circle has been closed and another one is about to start.

A moment when past events, heartbreaks and disappointments don't matter anymore. An instant when you know you are ready to give it another try.

A moment when you are ready to start rewriting your story.

For me, that moment happened when I met Edward, quite by chance. One look at him, one smile, and I knew. That instant was the beginning of a beautiful story and the end of all my fears.


	7. Comfort

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Comfort  
Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: M

Definition of Comfort:

**1. ** To soothe in time of affliction or distress.

**2. ** To ease physically; relieve_._

**3. ** A condition or feeling of pleasurable ease, well-being, and contentment.

**4. ** Solace in time of grief or fear.

**BPOV**

When in need, people found the most varied forms of being comforted. When loneliness hit them, the sadness and reality were just too much to handle and people sought comfort in what they could, what they sometimes knew, opting to hold on to what was available to them.

Some people found comfort in music or in books that lead them to a different world where everything was better, where happiness was possible.

Others found that comfort in destructive addictions. Alcohol, illicit drugs, random sex with strangers…

When it came to me, I knew I could always find that much needed comfort in his awaiting arms. His kisses, his caresses and warm embrace were certainly addictive as well, but they weren't destructive. On the contrary, his affection was the only thing that was able to keep me going, to make me smile when everything was too much, when my day-to-day life was unbearable and I just wanted to disappear forever.

And that was why, time after time, I kept on coming back to him. I kept on running into his arms and welcoming the security and the protection he provided me with.

When we were together, he would often say I was a wild and free spirit and that he would never be able to hold me down, no matter how much he wanted to, because I would always end up leaving. He said that as easily as I came to him, I left.

It was true. I always did leave, but what he didn't know was that I wanted to stay. I had already made my mind, came to a decision, and I wanted to stay and change everything.

We had long ago crossed the 'just friends' line, so why not give our relationship a real try? I was always so afraid, that I never let him hold me down. Afraid I wasn't good enough. Afraid I wouldn't know how to love him properly. Afraid I would end up hurting him, damaging him.

But now, I found myself in a position where I wanted, needed even, more than only a night of comfort every now and then. I needed to fall asleep and wake up in his arms every day.

The rain soaked my clothes and made me shiver as I walked to his apartment, but I didn't care. I just needed to be with him, hear him tell me that everything would be alright.

I needed to tell him I wanted him. I needed him to make me forget the horrible day full with distractions at work, discussions with my father and unwanted attention from a certain someone.

I climbed the stairs to his apartment and knocked twice on the door, knowing he was probably in bed at this time.

I didn't have to wait long until he opened the door, though; smiling down at me and then frowning once he noticed I was completely wet.

I didn't care about that, though. He was wearing only a white t-shirt and his boxers and he looked amazing. He made my mouth water.

"Bella, you're soaking wet." He pulled me inside the apartment with him and closed the door behind us. "Why are you so wet? Did you walk all the way over here in the rain?"

I moved a little so I was looking directly at him and raised my hand so I could brush the hair away from his face.

"I wanted to be with you." His frown softened a little at my confession and he smiled while leaning in to lightly kiss my mouth, his hands brushing the damp hair away.

"You should have called me and I would have gone to meet you." I shrugged and welcomed another one of his kisses that warmed my whole body, making me feel instantly better. "Let's get you out of those clothes before you get sick."

He took my hand in his and led me to his bathroom where he took my clothes off and wrapped a big towel around me.

I leaned into his embrace when he did so and buried my face on his neck while his arms surrounded me. He was so warm and smelled so good; it was almost as if all my worries had vanished.

He caressed my arms and kissed the top of my head as I wrapped my arm around his neck and played with his soft hair.

"I'll fill the bathtub and run you a bath, yes?"

"There's no need. I'm warm already and feeling much better now that I am here with you."

"I know, but I really don't want you to get sick. Come on." He let go of me and started to run me a bath as I stood there looking at him.

"Will you join me?"

"No, this bath is intended for you only. But I will be here giving you a lot of kisses and maybe even a massage." I smiled up at him and moved so I could kiss his covered chest before he unwrapped the towel from around me and helped me in the bathtub.

As I sat down and leaned back, the warm water covered my body, making me moan in pleasure and relaxing every single one of my muscles. Edward was right, this was a good idea.

He knelt down beside the bathtub and moved one of his hands to the back of my neck, massaging it just like he had promised.

"Did you have a bad day?" I nodded as Edward's other hand spread the soap and the bubbles along my legs, my stomach and my breasts. It felt so good to have him touching me. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. It doesn't matter anymore." I turned my head to the side and sighed when he leaned in, brushing our lips together. "I missed you, though."

"I missed you, too. I'm glad you came around." I smiled and kissed him again.

It was always like this. I had to be the one to come around to him. He would never do it because he never knew if I wanted to be with him or not. I was always the one deciding when and if we met each other, but the truth was that now, I wanted him to come around to me. I wanted to be with him. I always did…

"Edward, I want to stay here with you."

"And you can, love. I'm actually not letting you go out in the rain and…" I cut him short my shaking my head.

"That's not what I meant. I want to stay, with you." I looked straight at him, willing him to understand what I meant and he did.

"You do?" I nodded.

"Yes, I do. When I'm with you, I feel so good! You comfort me, give me strength, make me feel safe and loved… I feel like I can only be myself when I'm with you. You make me happy and I don't want to lose you, but I don't want to hurt you either." There, I had said it. He finally knew how I felt now.

I could only wait for his answer, his decision, now.

He was silent for what seemed like an eternity before finally speaking. My heart had broken into an accelerated run while I waited to hear what he had to say.

What if he didn't want anything permanent with me?

"You truly want to stay with me? No changing your mind at the first difficulty we encounter or running away?"

"No. I want to be with you."

"Then you can never hurt me. The only way you can do that is by leaving, you should know that already."

"Does that mean you want me to stay with you?" He surprised me by actually laughing.

"Yes, you silly girl, I want you to stay. I love you, so how can I not?" My heart swelled and I felt myself being immersed by an overwhelming sense of belonging and happiness as the realization that I loved him hit me.

"I love you, too." He didn't allow me to say anything else. He simply leaned in and involved me in a breathtaking kiss that shook all of my being.

I lost track of how long we stayed there, kissing and caressing until he took my hand in his and lead me out of the bathtub, wrapping the towel around me again and drying every inch of my skin amidst peppering my body with light kisses.

Once I was dry, we walked to his bedroom where I lazily took his clothes off while kissing every inch of skin that was revealed to me.

We made love throughout the night over and over again until our bodies became limp and we could only cuddle together.

He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me to him so his chest was pressed to my back and I sighed in contentment.

"This truly is happening. You are really here with me. It's not just one more dream like so many others I use to have with you."

"You dream with me?" I felt him nod behind me and then kiss my shoulder. "What are those dreams about?"

"Usually, I just dream that we are together and that you're not leaving." I smiled a little.

"It's funny. I usually dream with that, as well… and I'm not leaving this time. Not unless you want me to." His arms tightened around me and he kissed my shoulder once more.

"Never." I smiled, widely this time. Yes, this was the most amazing form of comfort and I would have it every day from now on.


	8. Collide

The Twilight Twenty-Five

Prompt: Collide

Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: K

Definition of Collide:

**1. ** To come together with violent, direct impact.

**2. ** To meet in opposition; conflict:

BPOV

Him and I… We collide.

We never seem to agree. We are always in conflict and can never meet in the middle. None of us is any good at making concessions and none of us is ever willing to be the first one to break.

Our arguments turn into fights, which culminate in one of us, usually me, not speaking with the other for a reasonable amount of time.

What's funny is that after the fight we can never remember what brought it up.

But despite everything, we loved each other and in the end that was all that mattered.


	9. Dark

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Dark  
Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: K

Definition of Dark:

**1.** Lacking or having very little light: a dark corner.

**2. ** Lacking brightness: a dark day.

**3. ** Characterized by gloom; dismal: took a dark view of the consequences.

**4.** Sullen or threatening:

BPOV

Darkness… It was all I knew now. It surrounded me everywhere I went and it was present in everything I did.

I had known what it was to be surrendered by light. I had known what it was like to be in love, to be loved, and to feel like you are dancing on air. I had known what it was like to be free, happy…

I had tasted the dream only to see it being taken away from me soon after. The light gave place to the dark and that - the darkness – had never left me since then.


	10. Apathy

The Twilight Twenty-Five

Prompt: Apathy

Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: K

Definition of Apahty:

**1. ** Lack of interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance or appeal; indifference.

**2. ** Lack of emotion or feeling; impassiveness.

**Apathy**

BPOV

I was vaguely aware of the months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds passing.

The people around me and their action and opinions meant nothing to me. Their conversations sounded like mere random babble to me, which I couldn't concentrate on.

Nothing held true interest to me. There was a complete absence of emotion in my life and I just couldn't seem to pull myself out of the state of disinterest in which I was.

All I knew was that he had left, taking with him everything that ever could spark my curiosity, my interest, with him.

Everything had changed.


	11. Patience

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Patience  
Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: K

Definition of Patience:

**1.** tolerant and even-tempered perseverance

**2.** the capacity for calmly enduring pain, trying situations, etc.

**Patience**

EPOV

Patience had never been my greatest virtue. I often grew impatient fairly soon but for this I could be tolerant.

I would be patient and way for her for as long as I had to.

She had unfinished business, she wanted to see the world and discover herself. I could wait until she found who she was, until she made her dreams come true and was ready to come back home to me.

I wouldn't push her or beg her to stay because that would only make her want to run away even more. I would stay here and wait…


	12. Slip

The Twilight Twenty Five Challenge

Prompt: Slip

Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: K

Definition of Slip:

**1. ** The act or an instance of slipping or sliding.

**2. ** An accident or mishap, especially a falling down.

**3.**An error in conduct or thinking; a mistake.

**Slip**

EPOV

It all happened in measly seconds. A present. A cut finger. Blood. A slip in Jasper's carefully built but not yet perfect control.

That was all it took, a mere slip in control from someone else, for me to understand that what I was doing was not only stupid it was also dangerous. It could even be mortal. Sooner or later it would be.

I could be the next one to slip.

We were monster. No matter how much we tried to hide that side of ourselves we were still monsters. We would hurt her.

I couldn't keep endangering Bella.


	13. Morose

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Morose  
Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Bella  
Rating: K

Definiton of Morose:

**1.** Sullenly melancholy; gloomy.

**Morose**

BPOV

It was raining again, as always, and once again I found myself reflecting the weather's own disposition.

The rain falling down around me, the wind blowing and enveloping the trees, the sudden cold that seemed to course through your veins, freezing your body… A gloomy weather always made me sad, sullen.

I curled in front of the fire place, a glass of hot chocolate in my hands and sighed deeply as a deep wave of melancholy enveloped me, taking me back and making me remember sunnier, warmer days.

I sighed again, just like the weather I was left feeling blue.


	14. Lithe

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Lithe  
Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: K

Definiton of Lithe:

**1. ** Readily bent; supple

**2. ** Marked by effortless grace

**Lithe**

EPOV

I leaned against the doorway and watched as Bella rocked the little baby in her arms from side to side, humming quietly, in an attempt to finally make him fall asleep.

She danced around the room and more than once I feared she would trip but not once did she. Her movements were fluid and graceful.

She almost looked like a ballerina rehearsing for a grand opening.

She might be the clumsiest person in the world but when she was like this, when she was holding our baby, she was touched by an effortless grace that shined all around her.


	15. Obsession

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Obsession

Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing:  
Rating: K+

Definition of Obsession:

**1. ** Compulsive preoccupation with a fixed idea or an unwanted feeling or emotion, often accompanied by symptoms of anxiety.

**2. ** A compulsive, often unreasonable idea or emotion.

**Obsession**

Victoria's POV

There was only one thought in my mind since the day they had taken him away from me. I had one goal and I would succeed in accomplishing it.

Revenge.

I would stop at nothing to make them suffer. He would know what it's like to lose the one you love and she would finally learn the meaning of pain.

Once I had her, and that would be soon, that girl would undergo a kind of pain she could never even imagine. And he would suffer for her.

Killing Isabella Swan was what I lived for. It was my obsession.


	16. Willing

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Willing  
Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: K

Definiton of Willing:

**1. ** Disposed or inclined; prepared.

**2. ** Acting or ready to act gladly; eagerly compliant.

**3. ** Done, given, accepted, or borne voluntarily or ungrudgingly.

**4. ** Of or relating to exercise of the will; volitional.

**Willing**

EPOV

She was too good. She was too trusting, too willing.

She shouldn't be so eager to be condemned to a soulless life. She shouldn't want to be condemned to an entire existence of craving for something she couldn't, or at least shouldn't, have.

But she was… She was willing to give up the chance of having a happy human life to spend eternity to me.

She was too accepting of whom I was and of whom she would become.

She was too good for me and I shouldn't be so eager to have her with me forever but I was…


	17. Earnest

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Earnest  
Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: K

Definition of Earnest:

**1. ** Marked by or showing deep sincerity or seriousness.

**2. ** Of an important or weighty nature; grave.

**Earnest**

BPOV

He had been sincere with me. He had told me what to expect. He didn't lie; he didn't fake or omit anything from me.

He made sure I knew from the start what I was getting into, what I should expect. He didn't try to sugar coat anything for me, on the contrary, he was brutally honest.

And that only made me love him more, want him more. It only made me want to be able to spend the rest of my days, eternity even, with him.

Thanks to him I knew what would happen and I wasn't afraid anymore.


	18. Rapacious

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Rapacious  
Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: K+

Definition of Rapacious:

**1. ** Taking by force; plundering.

**2. ** Greedy; ravenous.

**3. ** Subsisting on live prey.

**Rapacious**

EPOV

She was mine. I knew she was. She belonged to me just like I belonged to her but because I was greedy I just couldn't have enough of her. I always wanted more. I wanted more of her.

When we were together I felt like I was drowning myself on her but it still wasn't sufficient. I needed her with a voracious force that scared me. I was eager to feel her, kiss her, consume her, make her mine…

Her presence was intoxicating and I searched for it over and over again. I was insatiable when it came to her.


	19. Worry

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Worry

Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: M

Definition of Worry:

**1. ** To feel uneasy or concerned about something; be troubled.

**2. ** To pull or tear at something with or as if with the teeth.

**3. ** To proceed doggedly in the face of difficulty or hardship; struggle

**Worry**

EPOV

She was doing it again. It was a nervous habit she couldn't control but if she kept biting down on her lower lip like that she would draw blood.

It was also too much of an erotic act for me to handle.

I placed my thumb on her lower lip making her stop her attack on her own lip.

"Bella, love, if you keep worrying you lip like that I swear I'll have to intervene and stop you."

"And how would you do that?" I didn't answer. I simply took her lower lip in my mouth and sucked on it.


	20. Bound

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Bound  
Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing:  
Rating: K

Definition of Bound:

**1. ** A boundary; a limit

**2. ** Predetermined; certain.

**3. ** Determined; resolved.

**Bound**

Much was said about imprinting, about how it left you no choice but to love the other person, and although I believe imprinting is a strong force nothing was mentioned about the link shared between two vampires who realize they are bound to spend eternity together.

It was a connection of such powerful strength that it was capable of making a vampire's cold, dead heart start beating again, even if only figuratively. There was nothing a vampire wouldn't do for its mate, no way could he truly go on alone.

Vampires mate and are bound to be together for eternity.


	21. Red

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Red  
Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: James/Victoria  
Rating: K+

Definiton of Red:

**1. ** Having a color resembling that of blood.

**2. ** Reddish in color or having parts that are reddish in color

**Red**

James Point of View

Red. Her hair. Her eyes. The blood she drank. Everything around her was red, fiery. Her eyes could burn you and her actions scorch you.

She always knew exactly what to do. Every step she took was sure, programmed, designed to succeed.

When she hunted, her chosen prey had no opportunity to escape. Their blood was always spilled and she wasn't satisfied until she had drained it all.

She was a tracker, a planner, a killer. She was one perfect example of what our specimen should be.

All I saw when with her was red. Her hair, her eyes, blood…


	22. Taut

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Taut  
Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: K

Definition of Taut:

**1. ** Pulled or drawn tight; not slack.

**2. ** Strained; tense

**Taut**

BPOV

My fingers massaged the taut muscles of his shoulders and he threw his head back practically growling in pleasure and making me smile.

He needed to relax. He was always too tense. He worried too much and, if you asked me, I would say he was often too anxious and just a little bit prone to overreaction.

He was still more than perfect, though.

I kneaded his tense muscles, willing them not to - for at least tonight - be so tightly stretched.

Tonight I wanted all his worries to vanish. Tonight I simply wanted him to relax and enjoy.


	23. Vibrant

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Vibrant  
Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: K+

Definition of Vibrant:

**1.**Pulsing or throbbing with energy or activity: the vibrant streets of a big city.

**2. ** Vigorous, lively, and vital: "a vibrant group that challenged the . . . system" (Philip Taubman).

**3. ** Exhibiting or characterized by rapid, rhythmic movement back and forth or to and fro; vibrating.

**Vibrant**

BPOV

My eyes remained on him as he stalked towards his prey. I couldn't look away. In the back of my head I knew I should be concentrating on my own prey but that was impossible when there was an invisible force that gave me no choice but to observe my mate.

His entire body was visibly pulsing with energy. You could see it in the way he ran, the way he crouched and even in the way he looked at the mountain lion in front of him.

His entire being was throbbing with life. He was vigorous. He was beautiful.


	24. Honest

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Honest

Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: M

Definition of Honest:

**1. ** Marked by or displaying integrity; upright: an honest lawyer.

**2. ** Not deceptive or fraudulent; genuine: honest weight.

**3. ** Equitable; fair:

**Honest**

EPOV

"Come on, Edward, give me your honest opinion. Is this too much?" She pointed to herself and all I could do was shake my head.

It wasn't too much. It was just perfect. She looked beautiful, more so than she always did, if possible.

Bella misinterpreted my silence and immediately assumed I didn't like what I saw, which was ridiculous because there was no way I would ever not enjoy looking at her. She was a sight for sore eyes.

"It is too much isn't it? I knew I shouldn't have let Alice chose my clothes and convince me to wear this dress." She looked down at herself and then shook her head, turning around so she could walk back to our room.

Before she could go too far, though, I grabbed her arm and pulled her to me, pressing her little body against the length of mine.

I kissed her temple as she rested her hands on my chest and then whispered in her ear.

"Do you honestly want to know what I think, Bella?" She nodded.

"Yes. I said I wanted your honest opinion."

"That dress isn't too much. You look beautiful in it, my love." And she definitely did.

The strapless, little midnight blue dress hugged her body perfectly, accentuating every single one of her lovely curves. The swell of her breasts, the curvature of her hips…

There was no reason for her to feel self-conscious or think it was over the top.

She looked so perfect, so beautiful and so sexy all I wanted to do was forget about Alice's dinner party and take Bella to bed. I wanted to ravish her.

And that's exactly what I did.

I started to kiss her neck hearing her moan loudly when I bit down on it. Her hands on my chest lightly pushed me back, though, and I stopped what I was doing to look down at her.

"Edward, I love it when you do that to me but we have to meet Alice in about half an hour so unless you're planning to make this a quickie we really should stop." I raised an eyebrow and then smirked down at her.

Didn't that sound like a lovely idea?

"A quickie, you say?" I slowly made her walk backwards until her back was pressed against the wall and her chest against mine. "I could go for a quickie."

She ran her hands up my chest to my neck while nodding and pulled me down for a kiss I gladly complied with. I ran my tongue along her lower lip, asking for entrance that she gladly gave me.

We only pulled back when we needed to breath and not even then did my lips leave her skin, kissing down her neck to her cleavage.

I then cupped her breasts through the fabric of her dress, noticing she wasn't wearing a bra, and she moaned loudly while gripping my shoulders. That was the only incentive I needed to pull the upper part of her dress down, revealing her round and perky breasts to me.

I started a path of kisses towards her left breast and left several light ones around her nipple before licking it twice and finally taking it in my mouth.

She all but purred when I began to suck on that nipple and my hand went to play with her right breast, massaging it and pinching the nipple between my forefinger and thumb.

I ran my other hand up her smooth leg, under her dress, and stopped it at her ass for a second before moving to hook my fingers under the waistband of her panties. I lightly bit her delectable breast once and then pulled her panties down her legs as she reached to unbutton my pants, purposely brushing my already hardened erection on the process.

She truly was a little vixen when she wanted to.

Once her panties were off I helped her step out of them and she took the opportunity to pull my pants and boxers off. I guess we really didn't have time to waste!

I quickly stepped out of my clothes as well and moved so I was pressing Bella against the wall while pulling her dress up so it was pooling around her waist.

My lips immediately went to her neck again and I started to suck on the skin there while pulling Bella's right leg up so she could wrap it around my waist. She did so and in this position my erection easily brushed against her warm center.

She was so wet for me already.

"Are you ready for me, love?" She half moaned, half purred her answer to my question.

"I'm always ready for you, Edward." I nodded once and picked her up so she could wrap her other leg around me as well.

My fingers dug on her thighs and soon after I thrusted my hips in her direction, entering her with a swift movement.

We both moaned when I did so, enjoying the feeling of having me deep inside of her. She always felt so damn amazing around me!

I lowered her completely on me and starting moving slowly at first but faster with every deep thrust. It didn't take me long to start moving almost maniacally when she arched her back in my direction.

She kept bouncing on top of me as I thrusted in and out of her. As we moved Bella ran he hands down my back to my ass and grabbed it, just like she usually did when we were on bed and she wanted me to move deeper inside of her

Knowing what she wanted and wanting it too I started to buck my hops faster against hers, making her take as much of me as she could inside of her.

It felt amazing and if the sounds we were making were any indication of what we were experiencing, none of us would last for much longer.

"Oh, Edward!" Bella screamed my name once and I could immediately feel her clench around me in that amazingly pleasurable way she did.

With only one more thrust I was pulsing inside of her and thanks to her walls squeezing me I was soon spilling inside of her as my vision blurred and my breathing hitched.

I groaned into her neck and squeezed her ass as we rode the waves of our releases and only after recovering some of my strength did I put Bella down.

Her breathing was fast as well and she was flushed but she still looked unbelievably beautiful.

I smiled down at her, pressing our foreheads together and she smiled back at me.

That had been amazing!

"Wow, I guess you didn't like my dress so much, after all." She tried to smooth her dress down, shaking her head at the state in which it was now.

"No, I honestly did like your dress. You look great in it, so great I couldn't control myself."

"And had to rip it off of me?"

"I rip it off of you. You're still wearing it." I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her to me once more so I could kiss her. "I just happened to lose control a little bit. It's your entire fault."

"My fault?" I nodded while taking her lower lip in between mine and sucking on it.

"Yes. You are irresistible." She simply giggled as I picked her up, carried her to our room and laid her on bed so I was hovering over her.

We would definitely be late for Alice's dinner but I couldn't seem to care about that now.


	25. Restraint

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Restraint  
Pen name: Cass189  
Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rating: K+

Definition of Restraint:

**1. ** The act of restraining or the condition of being restrained.

**2. ** Loss or abridgment of freedom.

**3. ** An influence that inhibits or restrains; a limitation.

**4. ** An instrument or a means of restraining.

**5. ** Control or repression of feelings; constraint.

**Restraint**

EPOV

My fists closed, my jaw clenched, my breath caught, my stomach dropped and my body went completely rigid as I saw them come in the room together, talking and laughing like they had no worries. I had to fight to keep still and to not do something stupid that would more than likely only infuriate and wound her again.

My first impulse was to scream, to walk towards them and take Bella in my arms like I did so many times before, separating her from that other guy but I didn't. I couldn't do it no matter how much I wanted to.

She was happy now and, as much as that thought hurt me, it also helped me to be able to control myself.

It was all a matter of control, after all. I had always been good at controlling my impetus, hadn't I? I just had to summon all of my strength and do it once more even though it was so damn difficult. As difficult as it had ever been.

I had to think about how good he was for her. I knew he was the right man for her and I wasn't. I never would be. All I ever did was hurt her.

He had offered her his friendship when I failed her. He had been there for her when I wasn't. He had helped her when I couldn't. He had made her heal.

I still couldn't look at their interlinked hands and be happy for them, though. There was always something that kept me from feeling that way.

It took me a long time to realize what kept me from being happy for them. What the main emotion, amongst many undefined ones, surging through my body was when I saw them together but then I finally did. I recognized it perfectly well. Jealousy… For probably the first time in my life I was jealous. Almost blindly so.

I was jealous of that man who got to hold her hand and touch her so freely without, in my point of view, fully understanding how important that touche was. He touched her without understanding that Bella was to be treated carefully, to be loved and taken care of. Without knowing that I stood here looking at them and wishing I could at least run my thumb along her full lower lip, wrap a strand of her long and brown hair around my finger, let her delectable smell surround me, wrap my arms around her slender waist and crush her small but perfect body against the length of mine. I wish I could feel her soft lips pressed against mine once more or nuzzle her cheek and kiss her neck in that way that always made her moan.

Even though I knew he was more appropriate for her than I ever would be, I was jealous of the man who could so easily claim her kisses and her touch as his own.

I wanted to be the one to make her laugh like she was laughing now and not the one – the jerk - who had made her cry. I wanted to be the one that made her eyes shine with the light of a million stars but I had lost my window of opportunity to make her happy a long time ago. She would never be mine again. I would never be the one touching her, kissing her and loving her.

When I had that opportunity to be with her forever, I blew it. I took all the wrong steps, did all the wrong things, made all the incorrect decisions and ended up, in a short amount of time, making her suffer like she never should have. I made her suffer like I hoped she never would again because if there was someone out there who deserved only the best it was her.

I had failed her and I would never get the opportunity to see her rubbing her sleepy eyes like she always did when she woke up early in the morning again. I would never get to witness her elaborate ritual before going to bed late at night once more. I would never have the pleasure to hear her moan my name when we made love like she did so many times before. I would never see her throw her head back, arch her back off the bed and part her lips in the throes of passion yet again or feel my whole body shudder at how wonderful it felt to touch and be touched by her in the most intimate way. And I never again would get to hold her in my arms and caress her body until she peacefully fell asleep.

And because I wasn't the one for her, because we couldn't be together anymore and because she didn't want me and would never accept me back, I watched her from afar, making sure she was okay and wishing and dreaming I was that man standing beside her, claiming all of her as his.

And because all I could do was dream, I was jealous and that was an emotion I simply couldn't restrain yet.

All my other emotions I kept on check. Anger, despair, self-loathing… I tried to not think about them and succeeded for the most part but every time I saw Bella, my Bella, with him I couldn't control myself. It was like my whole world came crushing down on me once again and I just couldn't breathe.

I still hoped, though. I hoped that maybe as the time went by I would learn to contain myself and push the jealously back. Maybe one day I would be man enough to stand close to her without wanting to touch and hold her. Maybe one day my feelings for her would subside and I wouldn't have to restrain myself anymore. Maybe one day I would finally be able to move on just like she had done.

One day I would be able to keep all of the images and memories of Bella that plagued my mind on check.


End file.
